Man&#39;s shorts



Oct. 8, 1940. H4 zoos 2,216,897

MAN'IS SHORTS Filed April 8, 1939 INYENTOR flermn Zoafi Patented Oct. 8,1940

j Thisinvention relatesto undergarments and particularly to underwear of the shorts" or trunks type.

The so-called -shorts'quite commonly worn 5 by-jmen are generally made of inelastic woven fabrics which do not-"stretch suflicien-tly or have various chahges 'in -position of the wearer. As

a result, theysometimes tend to climb-and bind 10 the wearerat the crotch thus"causing considerable discomfortfi- Likewise, stresses exerted on the undergarment cannotbe relieved by stretching of the Iabricand, consequently, the garment oftentimes rips or tears. By back-rise ismeant 16 the ability of the garment to accommodate for bending and similarimovements of the wearer which -require a greaterheffective length of the fabric between the waist line and the crotch. To

someextent'this cambe attained by providing 7 20 greater fullnessin the "back of: the garment, but this fullness must be' keptwithin limits to avoid bagginess aand consequently thexprobability of insuflicient hack-ri-se has persisted.

For-certainprelated types-of garments, it has 25 been proposed to overcome these deficiencies by providing panels bf knitted fabric in the zones normally "subjected to greatest stresses. For example, 1 union suitsl have 1 been proposed having panels of {knitted} fabric extending substantially 30 across" the entire back -ofthe garment adjacent the waist line for -the purpose of increasing the overall: extensibility of the garment, permitting greater freedom or rnovement 'of the wearer, and particularly, from t istline" to the shoulders.

35 While'suchundergarmentshave improvedresiliency, as previouslyconstructed, they have been subject toother disadvantages inherent in their construction. A panel of such length as to extend substantially across the back of the un- 40 dergarment supports substantially the entire weight of the back of the garment and is subjeoted to substantially all of the downward stresses exerted on the garment resulting from movements of the wearer. These stresses in a 45 very short time will stretch the panel until its elasticity is impaired, thereby permitting the back portion of the garment to sag. Such panels when used in union suits have also tended, after a limited amount of use of the garment, to tear away from the adjacent portions of the garment usually at the top of the panel. The tendency to sag and tear away has also been increased .because the knitted panel as inserted in union suits and the like has been narrowed at each side to 5 such an extent that all the weight of the panel,

MANS snon'ris v He rman Zoob, New York, NY.

Application April 8, 1939, Serial No. 266,760 g l Claim. (01. 2-226) and to a large extent the weight of the lower back part and seat of the garment, as well as the stresses thereon, have combined to exert a pull concentrated at the line of attachment of the knitted panel with the waist band or other 5 upper part of the garment.

One of the principal objects of the present invention, therefore, is to provide undergarments of the shorts type which include a panel of knitted or other elastic material that permits an adequate back-rise in the garment and at the same time is so disposed that it will not lose its elasticity or. tear away from the waistband.

Another object of the invention is to provide undergarments of theshorts type having a '15 plurality ofassociated elastic panels which will beadequately supported by the remainder of the garment to prevent loss of their elasticity but which provide suflicient back-rise and stretching to accommodate them to the movements of the wearer; l i l Undergarments of the type embodying the invention? are characterized by the presence of a gore or panelwhich-provides fullness in the back and seat of the garment and an elastic panel ex-' tending across the top of and joining the upper end or the gore to the waist-band. The gore extends only partiallyacross the back oi the garment and 'isjoined to lateral panels forming the legs of the garment that normally aid in supporting it. The elastic panel thus supports only a portion of the weight of the gore and the back of the garment. The side panels or legs of the garment also tend to support the lateral edges of the elastic panel and thus prevent unnecessary stretching and loss of theelasticity of the panel. 7 Thegarment is likewise provided with elastic portions in the waistband which are disposed beyond the ends of the elastic back panel and thus do not tend to stretch this panel laterally, all the lateral stresses being carried by the waistband.

For a better understanding of the present invention, reference may be had to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a view of the back of a typical form of undergarment embodying the invention, with the garment folded in order to show details of its construction; and

Figure 2 is a side View of the garment shown in Figure 1.

The undergarment disclosed in the drawing consists essentially of a pair of leg portions ID, a back portion It, a waistband portion 13, and the usual fly portion 14. As illustrated, the legs of the garment are formed of three pieces of material, namely, a front panel I5, which extends from the crotch I6 around and forms the front and part of the back portion of the leg, a trapezoidal or triangular portion I1, forming a part of the back of the leg I0, and the back portion I2 comprising a seat gore I8 of substantially rectangular shape which is joined at its sides to the inner lateral edges of the panels H. The waistband I3 is joined to the upper edge of each of the front panels I5 and toan elastic panel I9 which is interposed between'the waistband I3 and the upper edge of the gore I8. As best shown in Figure 1, the elastic panel I9 has a' straight upper edge portion 20, which is joined to the waistband I3, diverging lateral edges 2 I. and 22, which are joined to the upperpart of the back edges of the panels I5, and a reversely curved lower edge 23 which is joined to the up,- per ends of the trapezoidal panels I! and the gore I8. The elastic panel I9 may be formed of a resilient knitted fabric or elastic, such as Lastex, or any other similar type of material which is resilient and tends to return to its initial shapeafter having been stretched.

The lateral edges 2I and 22 of the panel I9 are prevented from stretching by being joined to the comparatively inelastic rear edge portions of the side panels I5. The panels I! to a substantial extent support the weight of the gore. I8 which extends downwardly and is joined by a transversely extending crotch seam 24 to the forward edges of the panels I5. Since the panels I! are in turn supported along the sides remote from the gore I 8 by the panels I5, it will be seen that the elastic panel I9 supports relatively little of the weight of the back of the undergarment and, as a consequence, is not constantly subjected to tension stresses which wouldutend to stretch it and destroy its elasticity. Nevertheless the panel I9 can stretch when a stress is exerted on the gore I8 and the panels II due to movements of the wearer but returns to its original shape as soonas these stresses are relieved.

As shown, more clearly in Figure 2, the gore I8 is given, a certain fullness while at the same time avoiding bagginess. When .this fullness is properly adjusted to fit thebuttocks of the wearer, it will be found that asthe wearer either bends forward or assumes a sitting position a line of contact of the garment'will be established across the buttocks at thebeginning of the bending movement, and, owing to thepresence of the elastic panel I9 above this line, all or substantially all of the stresses caused by the change of position of the wearerwill be exerted in that part of the back of the garment between the line of contact and the waistband, thus preventing any pull or binding at the crotch.

In order to provide a close and at the same time a comfortable fit of the garment at the waist, the waistband I3 may be provided with elactic panels 25 which are disposed in the side portions thereof, outside of the area of the elastic panel I9. The panels 25, therefore, may be stretched without stretching the panel I9 inasmuch as an inextensible portion 26 of the waistband I3 is joined to the upper edge of; the panel I9 and to portions of the panels I5 adjacent to the elastic panel I9.

' It will be understood from the foregoing that I have provided an undergarment which has sufficient back-rise or elasticity to permit unrestricted movement of the wearer without pulling down at the waistband or binding at the crotch and which has elastic portions therein so disposed that they will not normally have their elasticity destroyed because of excessive stresses due either to movements of the wearer or weight of the undergarment.

It will be understood, also, that the undergarment may be modified in a number of ways, such as for example, by forming the panels I5 and I! from one piece of material rather than from two pieces of material, and that various types of materials may be used in the undergarment without departing from theinvention. Accordingly, the form of invention disclosed in the drawing and described above should be, considered as illustrative only and not as limiting the scope of the following'claim.

I claim: I

An undergarment comprising a pair of leg portions forming the front, sides and a portion of the back of the undergarment, a waistband having an inelastic portion extending across the back of the garment, said portion adjacent its ends being joined to .said leg portions, a substantially rectangular gore joinedto said leg portions at the back and cooperating therewith to form a portion, only, of the back and seat, a narrow elastic panel .of less length than 1 said inelastic portion interposedbetween and joined to said inelastic portion and the upper end of said gore, said panel extending beyond the edges of said gore transversely of the back of thegarment and being of less length than the width of the back of the garment and elastic portions in the sides of the waistband at points spaced from the ends of said elastic panel whereby said inelastic por tion prevents lateral stretching of said elastic panel and said elastic portions permit variation in the size of said waistband.

HERMAN ZOOB. 

